100 get checked out in memory of Harry

ALMOST 100 young people in the area were screened for an unknown heart problem as a charity with a local link held an event.The 100 Hearts for Harry group took over Crompton and Royton Golf Club to give checks for any underlying issues in association with Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY).

And the event was a resounding success as Debbie Dubois, mother of Harry who tragically died at the age of just 17, continued the organisation’s quest, screening another 99 people.

There is also a local connection as Debbie is sister of Paul Gidley, manager of Royton Town’s reserve team.

Inspired by the life of Harry, who passed away from an undiagnosed heart condition when he was 17 years old, Debbie and husband Mario created ‘1000 Hearts for Harry’, working with CRY to raise awareness of early detection.

So far, more than 2,000 young people have been screened and more than £87,000 for their screening days.

Even former Prime Minister Theresa May wrote about her admiration and they won a government Points of Light award, which recognises volunteers making a change in their community.

They said: “We set up ‘1000 Hearts for Harry’ after we lost our son at the age of 17 in 2014 to an undiagnosed heart condition

“We were shocked to learn that Harry was one of 12 young people who die every week from young sudden cardiac death, that’s the equivalent of 20 classrooms of young people, every single year.

“Aside from the statistics we were also incredibly shocked at how little awareness there was of this risk but also encouraged at what could be done to make a difference to enable those numbers to change.

“We set ourselves an annual target of providing screenings for 1000 young people locally in Harry’s name and so ‘1000 Hearts for Harry’ was born.

“We are extremely passionate about what we do and we hope that through raising awareness and by funding screenings we will be able to prevent more loss of young lives.”

Dr Steven Cox, Chief Executive of Cardiac Risk in the Young, added: “It is incredible what Mario and Debbie have achieved in memory of their son Harry.”